Animal feeder



Patented Oct. 13, 14931' v'iiirsn STATES PATENT ori-ics Dimmi HOWARD DoANE, or sr. Louis, MISSOURI, yAssIenoRl fro WALTER I. IAnrcxir.,

or' CHICAGO, ILLINOIS y ANIMAL FEEDER Application led November 23, 1929. Serial No. 409,226.v

The present invention relates to animal feeders and more particularly to thattype of animal feeders in which the grain is automatically replenished as it is removed by the i: animals from the feed receptacle. One obliect of the invention is to provide4 ananiinal feeder of a strong and sturdy character which is easy to build and composed of relatively simple parts not likely to get out oforder and requiring a minimum amount of attention.

Another object of the invention istoprovide an animal feeder in which the feed containing. compartment is normallyV closed but which ycan be readily opened by the animal del? vide a .particularlyeiiicient construction ofi'- siring to feed therefrom. Y A further object of the invention is to provide a Simple andeffec tive means for adjusting the amount of lfeed which will flow into the feed receptacle. A still further object of the invention is to profeeder in which the members forming the substructure of the feeder cooperate` effectively both as means for supporting the vfeederinfan elevated ,position and for forming theframework of the interior of the feeder.

To these and other endsthe invention resides in certain improvements and combina# tions of parts, all as will be hereinaftermore fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification. f

The drawing illustrates an end view, partly in section, of an animal feeder made in accordance with the present invention.A

The present embodiment of theinvention,

'- receptacle for grain or other material to be used for feed. yThepriinary storage recep-V tacle is arranged todeliver grain toa feeding receptacle 2 arranged therebeneath.

l/Vhile the animal feeder ofthe presentV in-y vention may be made in various f0rms,fit is 'the ground,indicated at 4.

stantially W-'shaped in cross-section.

prefer-ablyv in form of a shed supported upon frame members out ofcontact with the ground. Suitablefoundation members 3 of or embedded in stone or cementare laid upon Suitable upright frame members, 5 and. 6,

form the main support `for the feeder and have their lower ends resting upon and suitably. secured to the foundationy members 3, 3.

' While. only` a single .pair of frame members 5 and 6 have been shown, it will 'be obvious thatfany number of uprights may` be employed so as to give the 'desired lengthA of construction. For each frame member 5 and 6 there is provided respectively an inclined lframe member 7 and 8. These inclined frame members have their lower ends secured to the respective ylower ends of the upright frame members 5 and 6 and have their upper ends secured together and extending well up into the feeder construction for a ypurpose which will be presently brought out.

A horizontal frame member 9 respectively connects the individual units of frame members 5, 6, 7' andS so ythat there is provided a very strong and rigid construction for the frame and substructure of the feeder.

, Theroof structure of the feeder preferably comprises 'a plurality of rafters 10, 10 secured in any desirable manner to the upper ends of the individual units of the frame members 5 andk 6. Y Braces, such as indicated at 11, may be'employed to support the wide, voverhanging eaves. 12j, indicates any suitable roof covering. End walls 13 and 14, of any suita- Able material, Yareprovided for` enclosing the ends of thefeeder. Side walls, one of which isindicated at 15, are provided for enclosing i the sides of the feeder.

The primary storage compartment lhas a bottom which, inthe present instance,- is sub- For this purpose inclined walls 16-and 17 are secured on the upper portions of frame sections 7 and 8 to form a centralbottom portion of an inverted V-shape. On each side of the V-shaped central portion there is provided an inclined frame memberlS to which is secured a Wall 19 which providesA a partition between the storage compartment and ioo . `tion 21, supported on the frame member 9;

:and an inclined section 22, adjacent the outer wall of the feeding compartment, which prevents the accumulation of grain at the front corner of the compartment where it would be inaccessible to the animal feeding thereron rl`he front edge or rim of the feeding ompartrnei t is preferably extended outvwardly from the upper end of the inclined l mals thereto but which will normally maintain the feeding compartments entirely closed so to prevent access to the grain of small animals such as birds and rodents. @ne of the doors for the feeding compartment 2 is indicated at 24 and, in the present instancea is preferably mounted so as to swing about its upper edge. For this purpose there is provided a rod 25 secured in any suitable manner to the frame section 5. The door 24 is pivotally supported on the rod 25 by means of one or more supporting members 26 which, in the present instance, are preferably in the form of U-shaped metal straps passing over the rod 25 and having their ends secured against the sides of the door. T he door 24, mounted in thisv manner, may be swung inwardly by the animals head to permit the animal to reach the grain in the feeding compartment. `When an animal is through feeding and removes its head from the feeding compartment it isV apparent that the door 24 will return to its normal vertical position by force of gravity so as to completely close the feeding compartment.

Means are preferably provided for controlling the delivery of feed from the primary compartment 1 to the feeding compartment 2. While this may be done in different ways, in 'the present instance there is preferably arranged a slidable metal plate 27arranged in cooperative relation with an opening 28 formed in the partition 19. This metal plate '27 is preferably mounted in guides (not toward' and from the surface of inclined wall 16. ln this way the flow of grain from the primary compartment 1 may be adjusted so as to insure the presence of a substantially constant amount of grain in the feeding compartment.

The position of the adjustable plate 27 is preferably controlled from a point outside of the feeder and for this purpose there is provided an angle bracket 29 secured to the outside face of the wall 1 5 and provided with a bearing opening adapted to receive a rod 30, the lower end of which is threaded into a suitable bracket 31 secured on the plate 2'?. Endwise movement of the rod 30 is prevented by means of a pair of collars 32 fizzedly secured on the rod 30 and contacting the bracket 29 on opposite sides of its bearing opening. rllhe outer free end of rod 30 is suitably formerL as to permit the convenient use of a wrench or crank handle for rotating the rod in one direction or the other to thus raise or lower the plate 27.

An outer trough or receptacle 33 is preferably provided on the opposite side of the wall 15 from the feeding compartment for the purpose of' catching and saving any grain which might be carried out of the feeding compartment and not eatenby the animal. For this purpose the horizontal frame members?) project outwardly some distance beyond the frame'section 5 and upon the ends ofthe frame members 9 is secured a suitable plank 34 covering the ends of the frame members and projecting somewhat thereabove to form an outer rim or side for the trough 33. A suitabl'efloor covering 35 is secured on the frame members 9 between the plank 84 and the outer side wall 15- to form a bottom for the trough 33. The lower end of the outer side wall 15 forms the back of the trough. The ends of the trough 33 are suitably closed by extensions 36' of the end Awalls 18 and ll.

The grain is delivered to the feeder through a suitable door 37 which closes an opening in one end wall of the feeder. rEhe door 37 may be conveniently mounted for opening and closing movement by means of rollers 38 mounted to travel on a track 39. The door 37 is held closed by a suitable latching means 40.

lllhile a detailed description of but one side of the feeder has `been given it will be obvious that the opposite side may be constructed in exactly the same manner so that animals may feed on both sides of the feeder construction. ln certain instances7 however,

it may not be desirable to build a duplicate construction of feeder anch in such case, it apparent that the present invention has utility whe-n constructed to provide but a single row of feeding compartments.

1n the operation and use of the present invention the primary storage compartment is filled with grain through the door and Idie grain will fiow from the primary storage compartment into the feeding compartments 2, If the grain does not flow readily enough through the ope-ning 28", or if it flows out too fast,the opening 28 may be adjustedy tov the proper size by means yof the late 27 and the pushing its noseV against the door. In this position of the door the animal may obtain the desired, amount of feed and, as soon as its head is withdrawn from the feeding compartment, the door 24 swings back yto its normally closed position. If the animal dropsany of the grain which it removes from the feeding compartment this grain will usually be Y caught and retained in the trough 33.

lt will thus be seen that the present-invention provides a feeder construction which is the work.

of a strong and durable form, well designed to withstand stresses produced from within by the weight of the grain as well as stresses produced from the outsideby high winds. kThe efficient form of substructure which supports the feeder also cooperates to form a simple and elhcient interior construction for the primary storage lcompartment and the feedin@ compartment. v

'if desired, the portion of the side wall 15 below the door 24 v may be allowed to project slightly above thepiece 23 so as to render it impossible for the door 24 to swing outwardly. Thus the door 24, in closed position,

would tend to lean slightly against this' pro- -talin saidL feeder out of contacty with the Jecting edge of the wall rendering it impossible for rats and mice to gain access to the feed in the feeding compartment 2.

lThe feeder of the present invention has been found, in actual practice, to effect considerable savings in feed as well as operatives time on plantations located in the southern part of the United States on which large numbers of mules kare used to carry on The feed is at all times kept in a clean, sweet condition by reason of the construction in which both rain and dust are kept eating and actual savings of several cents per x hundred weight of animals per day have been recorded.

`While the present description sets forth a f preferred embodiment of the invention, nu-

nierous changes may be made in the construction without departing from the spirit ofthe 'being disposed below said primary compartspects asgillustrative and not restrictive, 'reference being had to the appended-claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope ofthe invention. Y

Iclaim: 1. An animal feeder comprising in combi- -jnation a primary storage compartment and a feeding compartmena'said primary storage compartment"comprising end walls and an outer side wall, a, feeding compartmentlocated below said primary compartment and separated therefrom by an inclined partition v wall having an opening therein to permit grain to flowfrom said primary compartment to said feeding compartment, said feeding vcompartment `havingan outer wall rwhich forms a Acontinuation of the outerside wall of said primary-compartment, an upwardly inclined floor for said primary compartment adapted to direct grain to said opening, a floorv `sectionfor saidifeeding compartment wall iof said feeding compartment, a displaceable door in said feeding, compartment adapted to permit access of the'head of an extending from said opening tothe outer side y animal tol saidy compartment, an4 upright y 'frame member to which the outer side walls of said primary compartment and said feeding compartment are secured, said upright frame member extending below said feeding compartment a substantial distance-to mainground, and an inclined Vframe member eX- tending upwardly from the lower end of said upright frame member and forming a supvrigid strut therebetween,.said horizontally disposed-frame member alsoy serving as a support for'the floor of` said feeding compartment. n

, 3. An animal feeder, according'to claim `1, having a horizontally disposed frame'member secured to said vupright frame member -land to said inclined frame,memberl to vform arigid strut therebetween, lsaid horizontally disposed framemember proyecting outwardly and beyond said outer side wall, 'and a grain catching trough` arranged below the ,edge of said displaceable `door and supported on, the end of said horizontally Vdisposed frame member. 'a i y 4. yAn animal feeder comprising in combination a primary storage compartment and Va plurality of feeding compartments, said primary storage compartmentcomprising a roof, end walls, side walls and a W-shaped bottom; portion,.said feeding compartments ment and having outer side walls forming continuations of the side walls of said primary compartment, the outer inclined sections of the W-shaped bottom portion forming a partition wall separating said primary compartment from said respective feeding compartments, a floor section for each feeding` compartment extending from the lower apexes of the vlfd-shaped bottom portion respectively outward to the outer side Walls of said feedine' compartments, said partition wall having an opening therein providing for the delivery of grain to said feeding compartment a displaceable door in the outer side wall of each feeding compartment adapted to be displaced by the head of an animal, upright frame members to which the side walls of said primary compartment and said feeding compartments are secured, said frame members extending to a distance belon7 said compartments so as to support said feeder out of Contact with the ground, and additional angularly disposed frame members eX- tending respectively from the lower ends of said upright frame members and meeting beneath the upper apex of said JV-shaped bottom portion and forming a support for the adjacent Wall sections thereof.

5. A n animal feeder according` to claim 4 having` a horizontally disposed frame mem ber secured respectively to said upright and said angularly disposed frame members, said horizontally disposed frame member supporting at least a portion 0f the floor of said feeding compartment.

G. An animal feeder comprising in combination a plurality of spaced upright frame members, side walls, end walls and a roof supported by said members, frame members respectively extending angularly upward from the lower ends of said spaced upright frame members and meeting` along a line located above the lower ends of said side Walls, walls supported on said angularly disposed frame m-embers to form a bottom portion of inverted l/shape within said side and end walls, horizontally disposed frame members secured respectively to said upright frame members and said angularly disposed frame members, floor sections supported by said horizontally disposed frame member at each side of said inverted V-shaped bottom portion and extending` from said bottom portion outwardly to said side walls, additional angularly disposed frame members extending respectively from said side walls downwardly to a point adj acent thejunction of said first mentioned angularly disposed frame members and said horizontally disposed frame members, wall sections formed on said last mentioned angularly disposed frame members, forming, together with said inverted V-shaped bottom portion, a W-shaped bot# tom for a primary storage compartment, the space between the outer inclined limbs of the W-shaped bottom portion and the respective adjacent side walls and respective adjacent floor sections forming feeding compartments, displaceable doors located in said side walls respectively providing access of an animalsv 

